


The Dreamer's River

by neerapen



Category: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke, Ladies of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke
Genre: Dreams, Gen, Ladies saving the day, Post-Book(s), Post-Canon, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-25 14:59:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7537291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neerapen/pseuds/neerapen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Young Liam insisted that every night two great magicians would appear in his dreams, telling him to contact a man whose name always eluded the boy, no matter how hard he tried to remember.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dreamer's River

**Author's Note:**

> For Aie and for you, dear reader.

Of all the things that are fair and good in the land of John Uskglass, no one ever talks about the stories surrounding a tower of darkness and the strange happenings related to its brief appearances.

Indeed it looks quite more interesting to talk about the weather, or how the smith's daughter managed to marry a rich man.  
However, for the sake of this story I'd like to tell you about people who found strange crops in their fields every time the Tower passed. Or how the smith's daughter ended up disappearing right after the marriage, leaving behind a quite shocked husband who swore his wife was abducted by darkness. 

Those are far more interesting stories, all related to the secret of the Tower of Darkness and the two magicians trapped inside of it. 

But there is one about a young lad, who dreamed about a river of darkness and what lay on the other side. Young Liam insisted that every night two great magicians would appear to the other side of this river, telling him to contact a man whose name always eluded Liam, no matter how hard he tried to remember.

Due to this little problem, Liam said, the two magicians were forced to haunt his dreams up until the name would be remembered. In Liam's father's opinion, this was some strange illness or curse that was cast upon his son. Liam's mother was scared that the faeries wanted to take away her precious child. The old neighbour Joseph believed that the kid was a changeling and now his kind was calling him back. 

This situation might have not changed for a long time, if it wasn't for three women who visited the little town in a crisp October morning. The three ladies asked if there was anything strange happening lately, and many started to list the weird things they witnessed every day: a young woman disappearing right after her marriage, the weather being warmer than the previous year, the apples looking redder than a tomato instead of striped with magenta and green. Liam hesitated for a long time before approaching those ladies, maybe because the two magicians on the other side of the river were quite exited when Liam told them about the three women. 

"I might know them," had exclaimed the taller magician. 

"Please tell them about us," had said the shorter one, although with some kind of hesitation on his voice.

So he went to the ladies and told his story. Soon the three of them smiled at him and at each other, promising to him that the two magicians will be soon relieved from the curse that was cast upon them. 

"Will they cross the river?" asked Liam, a little afraid.

"That they might do," said the fairest of them three.

"We'll try our best, you see," said the youngest with glee.


End file.
